Top News Stories –

Kanye West tells MTV Video Music Awards he wants to ‘run for president’ –
Kanye West stole the show at the MTV Video Music Awards by declaring that he will run for US president in 2020. He was given the lifetime achievement award but during his speech said he’d “decided in 2020 to run for president”. Cheered on by his wife Kim Kardashian, Kanye got an extended standing ovation when he was picking up the Video Vanguard lifetime achievement award. He also appeared to confess to smoking weed before taking the stage. “I will die for the art, for what I believe in and I ain’t always gonna be polite. “I rolled up a little something. I got the answer. We’re the millennials bro.” [BBC Newsbeat]
Kanye West

Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger announce split –
Avril Lavigne has announced that she’s separating from Chad Kroeger after two years of marriage. The singer posted a statement on her Instagram account alongside a happy photo of the couple on their wedding day. “It is with a heavy heart that Chad and I announce our separation today,” she wrote. “Through not only the marriage, but the music as well, we’ve created many unforgettable moments.” The 30-year-old married the Nickelback frontman in July 2013.

Avril Lavigne

Video of the Day –

Taylor Swift – Wildest Dreams

List of the Day –

MTV VMA Winners 2015 [Billboard Magazine]

Video of the Year:
Beyoncé – “7/11”
Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud”
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” — WINNER
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”

Best Male Video:
Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud”
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk” — WINNER
Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”
The Weeknd – “Earned It”
Nick Jonas – “Chains”

Best Female Video:
Beyoncé – “7/11”
Taylor Swift – “Blank Space” — WINNER
Nicki Minaj – “Anaconda”
Sia – “Elastic Heart”
Ellie Goulding – “Love Me Like You Do”

Best Hip Hop Video:
Fetty Wap – “Trap Queen”
Nicki Minaj – “Anaconda” — WINNER
Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”
Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth – “See You Again”
Big Sean ft. E-40 – “IDFWU”

Best Pop Video:
Beyoncé – “7/11”
Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud”
Taylor Swift – “Blank Space” — WINNER
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
Maroon 5 – “Sugar”

Best Rock Video:
Hozier – “Take Me To Church”
Fall Out Boy – “Uma Thurman” — WINNER
Florence + the Machine – “Ship To Wreck”
Walk the Moon – “Shut Up and Dance”
Arctic Monkeys – “Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?”

Artist to Watch:
Fetty Wap – “Trap Queen” — WINNER
Vance Joy – “Riptide”
George Ezra – “Budapest”
James Bay – “Hold Back The River”
FKA Twigs – “Pendulum”

Best Collaboration:
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” — WINNER
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth – “See You Again”
Ariana Grande & The Weeknd – “Love Me Harder”
Jessie J, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj – “Bang Bang”

Video With a Social Message:
Jennifer Hudson – “I Still Love You”
Colbie Caillat – “Try”
Big Sean ft. Kanye West and John Legend – “One Man Can Change the World” — WINNER
Rihanna – “American Oxygen”
Wale – “The White Shoes”

Song of the Summer:
David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj, Afrojack & Bebe Rexha – “Hey Mama”
Demi Lovato – “Cool For The Summer”
Fetty Wap ft. Monty – “My Way”
Fifth Harmony ft. Kid Ink – “Worth It”
Five Seconds of Summer – “She’s Kinda Hot” — WINNER
Major Lazer & DJ Snake ft. MØ – “Lean On”
OMI – “Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)”
Selena Gomez ft. A$AP Rocky – “Good For You”
Silento – “Watch Me”
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood”
The Weeknd – “Can’t Feel My Face”

Best Art Direction:
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” (Charles Infante)
Snoop Dogg – “So Many Pros” (Jason Fijal) — WINNER
Jack White – “Would You Fight For My Love” (Jeff Peterson)
The Chemical Brothers – “Go” (Michel Gondry)
Skrillex & Diplo – “Where Are U Now” with Justin Bieber (Brewer)

Best Choreography:
Beyoncé – “7/11” (Beyoncé, Chris Grant, Additional choreography: Gabriel Valenciano)
OK Go – “I Won’t Let You Down” (OK Go, air:man and Mori Harano) — WINNER
Chet Faker – “Gold” (Ryan Heffington)
Ed Sheeran – “Don’t” (Nappy Tabs)
Flying Lotus ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Never Catch Me” (Keone and Mari Madrid)

Best Cinematography:
Flying Lotus ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Never Catch Me” (Larkin Sieple) — WINNER
Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud” (Daniel Pearl)
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” (Christopher Probst)
FKA Twigs – “Two Weeks” (Justin Brown)
Alt-J – “Left Hand Free” (Mike Simpson)

Best Direction:
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” (Joseph Kahn)
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk” (Bruno Mars and Cameron Duddy)
Kendrick Lamar – “Alright” (Colin Tilley & The Little Homies) — WINNER
Hozier – “Take Me To Church” (Brendan Canty, Conal Thomson)
Childish Gambino – “Sober” (Hiro Murai)

Best Editing:
Beyoncé – “7/11” (Beyoncé, Ed Burke, Jonathan Wing) — WINNER
Ed Sheeran – “Don’t” (Jacquelyn London)
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” (Chancler Haynes at Cosmo Street)
A$AP Rocky – “L$D” (Dexter Navy)
Skrillex & Diplo – “Where Are U Now” with Justin Bieber (Brewer)

Best Visual Effects:
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” (Ingenuity Studios)
FKA Twigs – “Two Weeks” (Gloria FX, Tomash Kuzmytskyi, and Max Chyzhevskyy)
Childish Gambino – “Telegraph Ave.” (Gloria FX)
Skrillex & Diplo – “Where Are U Now” with Justin Bieber (Brewer) — WINNER
Tyler, The Creator – “F****** Young/Death Camp” (Gloria FX)

Top Twitter Trends –

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• Destruction of cultural heritage by ISIL
  • The United Nations confirms the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has completely destroyed the Temple of Bel in Palmyra, Syria, after earlier reports that the structure was mostly intact. (BBC) (Al Jazeera English Online)
• War in Somalia (2009–present)
  • Al-Shabaab claims to have killed scores of African Union troops in a successful attack that captured a compound in Janaale, south of Mogadishu. (Al-Jazeera), (AP)
• War in North-West Pakistan
  • Six suspected militants are killed in a United States drone attack in the tribal area of North Waziristan. (IANS via Yahoo! News India)

Arts and culture

• Pope Francis releases a letter granting priests the ability to grant absolution to women who have received an abortion. (Washington Post)
• Conflict-of-interest editing on Wikipedia
  • Wikipedia concludes a large-scale operation blocking hundreds of users centered on networks of for-pay edits violating the encyclopedia’s guidelines. (BBC) (The Guardian) (Ars Technica)

Disaster and accidents

• A chemical plant owned by the Shandong Binyuan Chemical Company explodes in the Chinese city of Dongying in the coastal Shandong province, killing at least one person with the extent of other injuries unknown. (AP via Asian Correspondent) (Voice of America) (Shanghaiist)
• The death toll from a Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at a Quincy, Illinois veterans home rises to at least seven with more than the current number of 32 sickened expected since the incubation period for illness can be up to two weeks. (Reuters)

International relations

• European migrant crisis
  • Authorities in Hungary close the Budapest Keleti railway station to prevent hundreds of migrants from boarding trains to other European capitals. (ITV)
  • Thousands of refugees arrive in Germany’s München Hauptbahnhof from Budapest. Police and firefighters on the scene provide them with food, water and medical aid even as more continue to arrive. (thelocal)
  • More than 11,000 Icelanders offer to open their homes to Syrian refugees to help with the European crisis.(The Independent) (Time)
• Eurostar services between Paris and London are delayed by hundreds of migrants trying to board the trains at Calais. (Reuters)

Law and crime

• Lake County, Illinois authorities seek three suspects, believed to be two white men and a black man, who killed a police officer from the Fox Lake, Illinois Police Department, Lieutenant Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, a 30-year veteran of the force who had been a mentor to many youths in the area and one of the most decorated officers in his department. (Chicago Tribune)

Politics and elections

• Guatemala’s Congress unanimously votes to strip President Otto Pérez of immunity from prosecution for his alleged role in a graft scandal that has engulfed his government. Nationwide elections are scheduled for Sunday, September 6th; Pérez is not eligible because of constitutional term limits. (Reuters) (Bloomberg)
• New Zealand flag debate
  • Four alternatives to the current New Zealand flag are chosen for a Spring referendum (20 November – 11 December 2015) in which New Zealanders will determine their favorite of the new designs. (TV New Zealand) (New Zealand Government)
• A law affecting online personal computer data storage comes into force in Russia. (RT)
• Faroese general election, 2015
  • The centre-left opposition, led by Aksel V. Johannesen, wins the elections on the Faroe Islands; the new government is expected to pass legislation allowing same-sex unions. (The Local)]

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